Apple is Ordering a Whopping 80 Million iPhone 6 Handsets for Launch

It seems Apple has particularly high hopes for this year's iPhone line-up. According to the Wall Street Journal, it's ordering its largest ever order for new iPhones off the production line, numbering somewhere between 70 to 80 million units.

How that figure will be divided between the rumoured 4.7-inch and 5.5-inch models remains to be seen, but it's still a significantly larger order than the 50 to 60 million iPhone 5S and iPhone 5C handsets ordered last year. Those numbers resulted in severe shortages of the iPhone 5S, and with Apple sealing a deal with China Mobile back in December (which has more than 790 million customers), it's going to need as many handsets as it can produce to meet any similar demand once more.

Apple's best ever quarter sales tally numbered 51 million, back over the winter or 2013. With two large-screened, sapphire display models likely on the way, that 80 million unit order suggests Apple has great faith in its newest creation to smash even that record. [Wall Street Journal]